Asan-Maina ( ch, Assan-Ma'ina) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

located on the western shore of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

territory of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. The

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

combines the names of the coastal community of

Asan Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000. Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas. Asan has grown into th ...

with Maina, a community along the slopes of the Fonte River valley to the east. Asan was the northern landing site for

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

during Guam's liberation from the Japanese during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Asan Beach Park is part of the War in the Pacific National Historic Park. The third community comprising Asan-Maina is

Nimitz Hill Annex Nimitz Hill Annex is a community and census-designated place (CDP) in Asan-Maina, Guam. It contains the geographic feature of Nimitz Hill, and is located immediately northeast of the Nimitz Hill CDP in Piti. In normal conversation, the Nimitz Hi ...

in the hills above Asan and Maina, which is the location of the

Joint Region Marianas Joint Region Marianas' mission is to provide installation management support to all Department of Defense components and tenants through assigned regional installations on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in support of training in the Mariana ...

headquarters. Asan-Maina is located in the Luchan (Western) District.

Etymology

Asan derives its name from the

Chamorro Chamorro may refer to: * Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific * Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas * Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mar ...

word ''hassan'' meaning scarce or rare. One meaning of the word ''ma’ina'' refers to an infant who, between the time of birth and

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

, is taken by the mother to

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

before sunrise. This old ritual was considered analogous to and in imitation of the

Presentation of Jesus in the Temple The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (or ''in the temple'') is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem, that is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, o ...

History

On July 21, 1944, the Americans landed in Asan to recapture the island from occupying Japanese forces during the Battle of Guam. The

3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...

landed in Asan at 08:28, and the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade landed near Agat to the south. Japanese artillery sank 20

Landing Vehicle Tracked The Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked (LVT) is an amphibious warfare vehicle and amphibious landing craft, introduced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. (The USN and USMC use "L" to designate Amphibious vessels, also c ...

s, but by 09:00 tanks were ashore at both beaches.

fought Japanese forces fortified in the hills above the shore after establishing a beach head. During the following week, Americans pursued retreating Japanese forces northward and eventually won the battle. From April to November 1975 the former Camp Asan was used as a refugee camp for South Vietnamese refugees during

Operation New Life Operation New Life (23 April – 1 November 1975) was the care and processing on Guam of Vietnamese refugees evacuated before and after the Fall of Saigon, the closing day of the Vietnam War. More than 111,000 of the evacuated 130,000 Vietna ...

. On August 6, 1997,

Korean Air Flight 801 Korean Air Flight 801 (KE801, KAL801) was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Korean Air. The flight crashed on August 6, 1997, on approach to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, in the United States territory of Guam, k ...

crashed east of

in Asan. A memorial was later constructed.

Demographics

The

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

counts the following census-designated places in Asan-Maina:

, Maina, and

. - See "Asan muny"

Education

Guam Public School System The Guam Department of Education (GDOE), formerly the Guam Public School System, is a school district that serves the United States territory of Guam. The school district can be thought of as analogous to the school districts of other cities and co ...

serves the island. Southern High School in Santa Rita serves the village.Guam's Public High Schools
." ''Guam Public School System''. Accessed September 8, 2008.

Parks and recreation

Every year the island's largest Easter egg hunt is at the War in the Pacific National Park with over 10,000 eggs. The village also hosts the yearly International Kite Flying Competitions with people from South Korea, Japan, China, Guam, and the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...

competing for the championship.

Government

References

{{Coord, 13, 28, 17, N, 144, 42, 50, E, type:city_region:US-GU, display=title